Modern vehicles include a vast array of sensors, such as air bag sensors, tire pressure sensors, engine sensors, seat belt sensors, and many others. The engine sensors, for example, can provide data about the vehicle's engine cycle to an engine control unit (ECU). Based on the data from the engine sensors, the ECU can then make changes to the engine cycle (e.g., spark plug timing and/or fuel injection parameters) to optimize engine performance.
As the number of vehicular sensors increases, integration is becoming a serious challenge for automakers. For example, wires connecting an ECU to its corresponding engine sensors can be several meters long. These wires are a significant cost factor in automotive systems and contribute to the overall weight of the vehicle. Because of this, some conventional wiring interfaces, such as PSI5 and DSI for example, limit the number of wires to two lines. These interfaces can be used in automotive airbag sensors, power train systems, and non-standardized pulse width modulated (PWM) protocols of ABS wheel speed sensors, among others.
As the inventors have appreciated, however, conventional sensor interfaces are less than ideal for several reasons. Therefore, the inventors have devised improved sensor interfaces as described further herein.